X-OVER: RIP and TEAR, Until IT IS DONE

CHAPTER 3: [Highschool of the Dead]

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A/N:

Last free chapter of the series for now! Maybe I'll post more of this on my other platforms once I churn out a few more chapters.

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As he was wiping the blood off his new Nichirin Sword...

"I'm telling you! We'll only be in danger if we keep going like this!"

A student with blond-dyed hair yelled, gaining everyone's attention as he stood in the center of the bus.

"And anyway, why should we have to go along with Komuro and these guys? You're the only ones who decided to go back to town! Shouldn't we have looked for a safe place in the dorms or in the school!?"

Sitting behind the driver's seat, he looked back at the countless students other than the main cast. Everyone had tense expressions on their faces, but the non-important mobs in the bus were having it worse, with fear and stress written all over their faces.

That wasn't the issue, though; the problem he had was with the teacher sitting at the back.

The vibes that the adult gave out were just creepy. At least in his opinion, the WIS stat that represented his wisdom and instincts was screaming at him to not trust the dude.

[Oh, yeah. That dude is downright creepy.]

"Shizuka-sensei, there's a car coming."

David provided as Shizuka hit the brakes.

The bus that started to turn to the opposite lane in order to avoid the broken-down truck in the way veered just in time to stop as a black sedan sped through, shouting at them with an annoyed tone.

Meanwhile...

"He's right... If we keep this up, we're just putting ourselves in danger! We should hole up somewhere like that convenience store we just drove by..."

Another non-important character, we'll call this wimp Mob B, said with tears in his eyes as David recalled the convenience store that they passed by earlier.

Yeah, there was no way a total of 15 students were going to somehow hole up in that small convenience store. Also, the chance of bandits and scavengers hoping to loot the place is high. Lastly, the walls of the store were mainly glass; the zombies would breach in within seconds.

If it were him, he'd suggest somewhere better. Like a prison. It's a fortress with fences, walls, and razor wire that surround the compound. It has an infirmary for medical supplies. Armory, for weapons and ammo. Yards for farming and a ton of space.

Oops, someone just fell from a news helicopter. How they even got infected in the first place was beyond him.

[One of the reporters on land hid a bite mark before boarding the aircraft.]

Ah, makes sense.

The bus suddenly stops at a resting point before Shizuka turns back and yells to the occupants.

"That's enough! I can't drive like this!"

Hah, even the kind nurse snapped.

With the bus parked for a moment, he could double-check if the blade still had its perfect edge.

[MAINTENANCE activated]

Raising the blade to check its alignment, he held back a whistle as he confirmed that the katana was in perfect condition.

Damn, this thing was a beast.

Sheathing the katana into its beautifully crafted sheath, he took the time to adjust the makeshift holster on his belt for his katana as the people in the bus continued to argue.

It's not to say that he was completely unaware of the situation; he just didn't care about the whole shebang.

"That's why we need a leader. One of us!"

The teacher suddenly stood up from his seat as he exclaimed with an excited voice.

Saya pushed her glasses up as she retorted.

"And I take it there's only one candidate for the job in your mind?"

"Why yes! I'm a teacher, Takagi-san. Everyone else is a student; that alone speaks volumes to my merit!"

Turning to meet everyone's gaze, he asked with a smile.

"How about it, everyone? If you go with me, I'll take responsibility and do whatever's necessary to keep all our problems at bay! Is that fine?"

And then everyone started clapping their hands with expectant expressions on their faces.

[Humans sure are foolish. As long as they can avoid taking responsibility, the masses will follow like mindless drones.]

It is unfortunate, but this is just normal human nature you'd expect in the 21st century.

As the teacher bowed, he turned back to meet his gaze as he declared with a smirk.

"And there you have it; through a majority vote, starting now I have become the leader."

His gaze on David heats up as he pushes up his glasses.

"And I, as my first action as a leader of this group, vote that Student Lee Yong Zuan be kicked out of this bus!"

His own group was surprised at the proclamation. Kohta's rough expression briefly surfaced as he raised his nail gun, only for Saya to lower it down with a frown. Saeko narrowed her eyes as her hand went for the wooden bokken sitting next to her. Shizuka had a surprised expression on her face, with her hands tightening on the steering wheel.

Looks like everyone's waiting for his response. So, here it was.

"Sure. Marikawa-sensei, open the door."

He casually asked Shizuka as he got up from his seat.

"H-Huh?! But that's a bit too sudden—"

He was planning to hop off the bus and kill the zombies around it as the vehicle attracted their attention when all of a sudden, Rei too ran towards the bus door before looking at Shizuka with a fierce expression.

"Sensei, open the doors... Please open them! I'm getting off!"

Without a word, she leaped to the shotgun seat of the bus before opening the unlocked door and jumping down from the bus.

"Rei!"

Takashi followed suit to try and reason with her.

"I won't have it! I don't want to be anywhere near that guy!"

She yelled, pointing her bloodied broomstick pole at the slimy teacher whose name he still had not gotten.

[It's Shido Koichi, by the way.]

Oh, thanks.

Anyways... Shido here was faking his worried face as he muttered to the group in the bus.

"Well, if she's saying she can't go along with the group, then... There's nothing we can do about it..."

Sigh... What a nuisance.

He sat back down in his seat, seeing that the two lovebirds with a toxic relationship weren't coming back onto the bus.

With them out of the picture, the only people left to guard the bus were Saeko and Kohta, though he had limited bullets, so he had to be on the bus.

Besides, the two should be fine; they're the main characters of this universe after all—

Suddenly another larger bus appeared behind them, driving recklessly.

The wheels of the large bus twisted all of a sudden and crashed into a van that had been abandoned on the road. The collision sent the bus flying before it exploded as soon as it came in contact with the concrete road.

A deafening "BOOM!" erupted as the sparks and oil combined into a massive fire that separated the group on one side of the fire and Takashi and Rei on the other.

As everyone recovered from the explosion's shockwave, Saeko leaned on a window's railing as she shouted out in a panic.

"Komuro-kun, Miyamoto-san, are you okay?"

Seeing the wall of fire that separated the two groups, Takashi quickly checked on Rei before shouting back.

"Y-Yes! The fire's too big for us to cross; let's meet up... at the eastern police station!"

Saya ran up to the side of the bus that Takashi was facing and opened the window.

"The bus needs time to reach there! At least an hour!"

"Then at five! If we're not there today, then tomorrow at the same time!"

As the fire grew larger from the oil tanks of both crashed vehicles, David quickly informed Shizuka about it.

"Shizuka-sensei, the fire's getting close. Go now!"

"Yes! I'll go back and try a different route!"

Shifting the gear to reverse, the bus jerked backwards before the vehicle started to clear away from the large flames.

... What a damn mess!

[That's the plot for you. Get used to this.]

Ugh, he's definitely not going to like the next one.

But overall, something important came out of this.

The zombies that funneled out of the large burning bus were walking out ablaze for a few seconds before dropping dead on the ground.

That meant that they were still susceptible to flames. Knowing this information could potentially benefit him.

His eyes met Shido's as the man sneered at him. He waited, but the teacher simply turned his head and ignored his presence.

At least the guy wasn't that stupid in terms of team management. He needed David as a backup to fend off the zombies and other threats, so he backed off for now.

That being said, he's still a bit skeptical about the man, so he moved to sit in the shotgun seat of the bus with his katana perched on the door.

"Phew, I'm glad that at least you're still here, David-san!"

He gave a thumbs-up.

"Tell me when you're tired; I'll switch and drive."

He had some experience driving when his father taught him, but his knowledge only went as far as normal sedans. As for buses...

Is a bus considered a weapon for WEAPON MASTER...?

[Definitely not. Don't worry, I'll guide you through it.]

[You'll be a master at driving buses when I'm done with you.]

"Eh... You know how to drive a bus? Let alone driving?"

She had a suspicious look on her face, but it instantly faded away with an impressed smile as he gave her a nod.

"Yes."

“Ara, you sure are talented, David-san.”

Since he's a delinquent lore-wise, surely they know how to work around this kind of stuff, right? That should be good enough as an excuse.

=

=

=

... He's bored.

Somehow, this situation's boring him.

More than 30 minutes was spent on the bus going into the city. And another hour moving through streets to reach the eastern police station before getting stuck in traffic 20 minutes ago.

The damn traffic was so long that you couldn't see the end of it; that's how bad it was.

There were so many zombies roaming around the streets earlier too, blocking the bus from moving, that Saeko and he had to cull them every few minutes or so to move through.

Now? None were present, so he was stuck waiting in his uncomfortable seat. Damn you, long legs.

At least he's racking up the kills for his Quest, he's already 1.79% of the way there. And that it's just a few minutes' walk to the suggested rendezvous point.

[Relax, it's only the first day. You have another 90 full days to work with what you have.]

Though, he's surprised that she could even dent a person's skull that easily with nothing but a wooden bokken. Of course, breaking a person's skull is easier than you think, but he reckoned that her STR stat must be high for a human in this world.

[One of, if not the highest in Japan. Her base stat alone is 43 and counting. The more experience she gets, the higher her STR will skyrocket.]

Impressive. What about Takashi? He's rather strong for his age, too.

[36.]

Not bad, not bad.

And to be honest, his END stat is no joke, either. It's been... What? 4 hours since the apocalypse started?

Most would have been knocked out from all the stressful situations that happened; even Saeko, who was the fittest of the group other than him, had taken a short 20-minute nap to stay in tip-top shape.

His stamina was through the roof; after all that's happened, he only expended a few drops. It felt like he could fight on forever.

The slimy voice behind him gets louder as each second passes, making his good mood fade as he breathes out an annoyed heave.

Shido has been yapping this entire trip. He could only tune out so much before getting annoyed... And that face is so punchable.

... Wait, do you currently have Internet?

[Random question. Kind of. we don't call it that, but yes. Why?]

Is there a chance that you can project any kind of video to him? This is so boring; he needed some entertainment.

[Ohhh, yep. That, I can do. Hold on for just a moment...]

Yes! Something to pass the time.

A few seconds later...

[... Got it. Here you go.]

["The following is a non-profit, fan-based parody. Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT are all owned by FUNimation, TOEI Animation, and Akira Toriyama. Please support the official release."]

Reference! Nice to see that his eternal partner had great taste! Now, to enjoy some good fucking food—!

A tap on his shoulder made him frown as he looked at the person responsible, Tova thankfully pausing the transmission to not miss anything... Even though he already memorized every episode by heart.

Saya flinched under his glare before recomposing herself as she sent him a glare back.

"You weren't focusing on what I said!"

He glanced at the group, who looked ready to get off the bus; everyone was at the front of the bus, and even Shizuka was getting out of the driver's seat.

"We're leaving?"

Kohta's eyes briefly flicked to the back of the bus where... Yeah, that's the start of a cult, alright. The students had this fanatic look in their eyes, looking at the "priest" with admiration and lust.

"Um, we're going to leave the bus. Shido-sensei, he's..."

The boy seemed afraid of the teacher as Saeko retold their priorities.

"After meeting up with Komuro-kun, we will focus our attention on Tokonosu City, across the Onbetsu Bridge."

With a nod, he stood up and slung all the supplies he looted onto his arm just as Shido looked their way.

"What's going on with you all? We need everybody to agree to cooperate here...?"

Saya, flipping her hair with her hand, looked at Shido with a smirk on her face.

"No thanks, Shido-sensei. We've got our own goals in mind! This isn't some field trip; we don't have to follow your lead!"

The tension in the room grew as Shido's face darkened slightly.

"I see..."

The group tensed up as he continued with a calm expression.

"Well, if you've decided that, then go ahead and do what you all please, Takagi-san. After all, Japan encourages the free, like our fellow neighboring country! However..."

He disgustingly licked his lips.

"We can't have that with you, Marikawa-sensei! It'd be too great of a loss to be without a nurse in such a predicament."

Walking forward towards them, he smiled with his hands out.

"How about it? Won't you stay? There are students here who rely on you too, but I am a fair person. Just as soon as we secure ourselves a safe location, Takagi-san and her friends can call on you when they need—"

A sudden release of gas expelled from the group as a nail soared and grazed Shido's face, piercing a cushioned seat.

The teacher palmed his cheek with a surprised expression as Kohta stepped forward.

"... I didn't miss on purpose, just to let you know."

"H-Hirano-kun?"

Stumbling back, Shido stammered for a second before Kohta erupted.

"Shut up! Do you have any idea how many people I've killed at school? And you've done nothing but mock me from the very beginning since I entered high school! You're even guilt-tripping people with your stupid nonsense!"

With the nail gun trembling in his arms, Kohta pointed it at Shido, who backed off with a frightful face.

"I've put up with it this long! All this time, I've put up with it! Because I wanted a normal life! But... That's not necessary anymore! Hahaha, normalcy has no meaning to me anymore!"

Calming down, his face shifted into the face of a man, his aim now steady.

"I... Yes, I can now kill the living. So back off, or else you want to taste metal, you four-eyed freak of an adult!"

... Damn. Must have had a lot of pent-up anger to explode like this. David had no doubts that Kohta mustered a lot of courage to face his fears.

Asking Saeko to get out first while his nail gun was still pointed at Shido and his group, Kohta felt a pat on his shoulder.

"Remember this sensation. Etch it in your soul."

Even though David knew this boy for only a few hours, not going to lie, he was getting to him.

"... Yes!"

He watched Kohta getting down from the bus safely and was about to get down himself when Shido seemingly gained his composure back as he cleared his throat.

"Now, Student Yong Zuan, taking our supplies—"

"No."

Fuck that. They can starve for all he cares; this was looted by him , he himself will choose who to give this to, and he decided to definitely not give them a single grain of rice.

With half his body leaning out of the bus, he grabbed onto the railing next to the door. Staring at the man dead in the eye, he enjoyed the way the slimy bastard looked away and uncomfortably shifted.

"... You're going to die."

One way or the other, because if he saw this punchable face once more... He'd deck him in the schnozz.

[Hah! I understood that reference!]

Slamming the door of the bus hard, he crossed the road and went to where the group was, discussing their next move.

"Which way do we go? I'm afraid I don't know this area very well."

"First... We figure out where Onbetsu Bridge is from this street. Maybe the GPS still works."

"But it might be blocked off; this traffic is unusual."

As the three students discussed their options while walking to the police station, he decided to tag next to Shizuka, who was dozing off tiredly, and resumed the first episode of Dragon Ball Z Abridged by asking Tova to play the video.

Eventually, before they reached the police station and by the time he reached episode 4, the group abruptly reunited with Takashi and Rei, who were riding a motorcycle.

The reunion celebration was short, as Shizuka suddenly stopped everyone while showing the time on her watch.

"Excuse me, I think it'd be better if we rested for today. It's going to be dark within the hour, and when it gets dark... It'll be hard to differentiate us and "them"."

Saya then gives a great counterargument.

"That is true, but where can we kill time till morning comes? The surrounding area is filled with residential houses."

"Actually, I have a place in mind..."

=

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=

Takashi and Shizuka went ahead to scout the area with his bike, but Shizuka had already given them the directions to the place she had in mind beforehand.

It only took a few minutes on foot, and soon they reached a two-story duplex with multiple units that looked like the perfect house to stay the night.

High walls surrounding the duplex that would be hard for zombies to climb, a metal gate that looked sturdy enough and large enough for many people to fit in at once, and the best thing was the modified hummer parked outside.

[MAINTENANCE activated]

Touching the large car, MAINTENANCE activated instantly, with knowledge on how to fix and repair the car flowing into his brain.

The knowledge didn't come with methods on how to hotwire it, but he should be able to do it with enough experimentation and time, just in case there's no key for the hummer.

As the group stared at the house with amazement and relief, the familiar sounds of groaning and footsteps came from inside the house as the previous occupants of the other duplex units started stumbling towards them, attracted by their voices.

David could easily rip and tear them apart, but instead, he let the rest handle it.

They needed the combat experience to fight the zombies; it was essential that everyone in the group could pull their weight, especially the front line.

So, while the group cleared the house of its previous owners, he placed the supplies on the floor and made sure that Saya and Shizuka were at safe locations and at arm's length to the front line before bee-lining away with the intention of clearing the neighborhood of Zs... At least for a few hours.

[How thoughtful of you, David.]

It's called killing a few birds with one stone. Everyone can relax and take a well-deserved break for a while, and he gets to grind out EXP points and his Quest objective; everyone profits.

There were a few duplexes other than the one here that were filled with zombies, so doing the math, he estimated about a hundred and fifty of them in a kilometer radius. That's quite a lot.

... It'd be a little tedious to clear all of them; he needed a way to constantly get their attention so that they'd be attracted to his direction.

[Oh... I got a perfect plan!]

Following Tova's advice, David went into one of the duplexes and searched for a wireless stereo speaker.

Understanding what she was about to do, he held back a grin as he secured the speaker on the fence with scotch tape and turned the volume knob to the maximum after distancing exactly 2 kilometers from the duplex the group was situated in.

A moment later, the wireless speaker came on before a disgustingly amazing riff of an electric guitar graced his ears before the drums took over.

[Playing : ♫ "Rip and Tear"]

The music blasted through the whole neighborhood as all zombies turned their heads towards him in an instant.

Wearing his Light Suit's helmet back on, he cracked his knuckles and unsheathed his Nichirin Sword before charging into the horde that ran towards him.

[COMBAT EXPERT activated]

[WEAPON MASTER activated]

[BERSERK activated]

{STR : 57 → 285}

{DEX: 57 → 285}

{END: 57 → 285}

{570/570 HP → 2850/2850 HP}

Red-hot anger pumped aggressively through his veins as he silently dismantled the zombie army in front of him.

With every zombie that reached out to lash and gnaw his flesh, their heads fly off by a single swipe of his blade or get crushed by his punches or kicks.

With every zombie he killed, another three took its place, but he didn't care about the numbers. They could come at him for all he cared; he just needed to vent out all this rage surging in his body.

With every zombie he culled away, a whisper in the back of his head pounded at him, getting louder as he channeled more of the seemingly infinite rage into his strikes.

Rip and tear...

Rip and tear!

RIP AND TEAR!

UNTIL IT IS DONE—!

He snaps out of it when an arm pushes onto his helmet, his body moving fluidly as he ducks, using his own free arm to grab the zombie by the head before tightening his grip, popping its skull like a melon.

Shaking his head, he held his breath for three whole seconds and exhaled, just like usual.

Instantly, his mind clears, though the infinite rage within him still hasn't snuffed. In fact, it ignited further as more enemies entered his field of vision.

He reeled it in, letting it channel into his attacks more without clouding his head as he sped up the killing. He could see the end of the horde, just a few more dozen kills.

So, he ripped and tore through the horde until they all were corpses on the ground. Breathing with a slight pant, he looked over at the pop-up in his vision as soon as the last remaining zombie fell.

[GLORY KILL activated x65]

[You have killed 82 enemies and gained 902 Experience Points!]

[You have leveled up from from LVL 10 → 11! (365/1100)]

[BERSERK deactivated]

[Coast is clear for now, and congrats on level 11!]

Thanks for the info, Tova. But wow, there are a lot of bodies around him.

Stepping over the zombie corpses to reach the wireless speaker that's still spitting out tunes, he checked its battery before storing it in his Inventory for future usage.

While he rolled his shoulders to get rid of any knots, he asked Tova how long it had been since he left.

[Less than 10 minutes. They should be getting worried about now.]

Nodding, he started walking back to the house Shizuka mentioned...

Actually, a quick detour. He broke into a nearby home and killed the zombies inside before grabbing as many fresh clothes as he could fit in his hands before continuing his trek.

=

=

=

Drinking from a clean glass cup, he sighed at the taste of nice, instant coffee.

The day had already turned to night, and they were currently holed up in Shizuka's friend's house.

The boys, along with him, already took a quick shower before the girls' turn... He looked at the door that separated the bedroom from the bathroom as squeals and laughter sounded from behind the door.

"They... sound like they're having a ball."

Takashi said with an embarrassed chuckle as Kohta had a lecherous smile on his face.

"Shall we test your theory and sneak a peek?"

"I'm too young to die."

Well said, Takashi. Well said.

Relaxing on the bed with his coffee in hand, he enjoyed his time as Takashi and Kohta continued their efforts in breaking the locked cabinet in the room.

He already gave them a hand earlier with the first locked cabinet. He almost lost his mind when he saw that it was filled with shotgun shells and ammunition.

There should be guns in the other cabinet; that made him more excited at the prospect of holding a gun for the first time.

He was about to join them when, prior to joining the girls in the bath, Shizuka informed them about the instant coffee down in the kitchen.

He then abandoned the boys in search of coffee.

Of course he had to make a cup; he kind of deserved it after so much protecting. Plus, he had been without coffee for over 12 hours; he needed to refill on sweet, sweet caffeine.

"Hah... This sure is tightly locked."

"Komuro, again!"

Kohta seemed to be fired up. Holding onto a crowbar, the two synchronized their movements before pulling hard.

The lock on the cabinet snapped, and the door swung open while the two boys fell to the ground.

"Damn...!"

David let out a whistle as he stood up from the bed with his cup in hand.

In the cabinet were guns. Real guns the shape of rifles. He didn't know their names... Yet.

Kohta excitedly started inspecting the guns with Takashi at his back while he himself grabbed one of the two pistols on a pistol rack below the higher-caliber rifles.

[WEAPON MASTER activated]

Knowledge of the pistol in his hands entered his mind as he did a quick inspection of the gun.

A modified Gen 4 Glock 19 with an extended slide release, modified trigger, reflex sight optics, and a magazine well.

And as for the other pistol... Another modified handgun, this time an HK P30L with a custom compensator, modified trigger, red dot sight, and a magwell.

Same mods, overall, but combat-centric ones.

Taking the P30L, he pointed it at a wall and aimed it with both hands. The weight felt balanced, and the grip and feel for his hand were perfect.

"Impressive."

"I know! These guns are so illegal in Japan! Man, what kind of friend does Shizuka-sensei have!"

A Springfield M1A1, an SR-25, and an Ithaca 37. Makes you wonder what Shizuka's friend was in, because this is no mere hobby.

Sitting down in a circle, Kohta distributed each gun's magazine as they all started loading ammo into the respective magazines.

WEAPON MASTER seemed to kick in as he started loading 9mm bullets into magazines with fast precision, catching the eye of Takashi.

"Lee, aren't you a bit too good at this?"

He paused before giving a good answer.

"I... dabble a little."

Perfect.

"Seriously, Lee, your speed might be faster than what my instructor displayed. Where did you go to study under to get this kind of muscle memory?"

The loading speed of the boy in front of him was no joke either; bullets were being inserted into their magazines with minimal effort.

"Hirano, you've handled a real piece before?!"

"Yeah, when I went to the states, I studied under a civilian militia, the Black Hawks, for a month."

Kohta had a rather extensive background.

They then discussed what kind of person Shizuka's friend was to have access to such firepower. He personally agreed when Kohta predicted that she was some kind of S.A.T. (Special Assault Team) member.

With their speed, Takashi had to learn a bit more about speed loading; they finished and looked at the magazines that were neatly arranged. Each gun had four magazines filled with ammo, with extras that would last them a while.

"Dibs on the SR-25 and M1A1! Komuro, you take the Ithaca since you're our front line. As for Lee..."

"The P30L."

Kohta nodded, agreeing with his choice before handing him the only handgun holster.

"Fits your style more. Besides, I think it's a bit too large for the others."

The holster clipped onto a pocket, so he opted to clip it to his right pocket since his Nichirin Sword is sheathed on the left.

Speaking of his sword, he should make a sturdier holster for his sword. Maybe he can find something to make a new holster...?

With the gun and sword on either hip, he felt secure. With it, he now has both long- and short-range options, which will make protecting the group easier.

How does he look?

[Hmm... 8 out of 10, only because of that goofy t-shirt you're wearing.]

He'll ignore that remark; this droopy dragon with cute eyes fits his whole vibe!